Picking beans, freezing beans

I picked beans today.  It was the first pick of the final round of beans in my garden.  This final planting did pretty well, and while I expect to pick again in about a week, I'm happy with getting some beans to freeze this year for winter consumption.

Bush soleil french/filet bean

Soleil and Blue Lake bush beans

The two varieties I picked today were the yellow bean Soleil, and the green bean Blue Lake.  Both were bush types, which means they grow about 2 1/2 feet tall.
After picking them they require some processing before freezing. I prepare them by taking off both ends of the bean, and then prepare a boiling water bath for them.  I blanch the beans (put them in the boiling water) for two minutes, take them out of the water and place them on a plastic tray, and then put the tray in the freezer for several hours until the beans are frozen.  Then I put them in plastic bags and use my FoodSaver vacuum packer to pull the air out of the bags and heat seal them.  I then label them with the date, and return the bags to the freezer for winter use.  Here are photos of the process.

Boiling water bath

Beans being blanched

Tray for freezing

Packaging with the FoodSaver vacuum packer

Ready to freeze again